County Court Judgement Received

Blue1133

Good evening.

I have an urgent issue which I hope you can assist with a family member. Details as follows:

CCJ judgement awarded - Gladstones and Horizon 4 months ago.

Found out after checking credit file before applying for credit today.

They moved address shortly after the alleged contravention, and also bought a new vehicle, they were completely unaware of the claim, despite postal redirection in place nothing was received.

First steps - found out the information from the court, and I am assuming next steps are to contact Gladstones.

From my understanding, the following is needed - Claim form/Particulars of claim/Order/Claim references - is there anything else? to be requested from the court.

In your experience - do Gladstones routinely give consent to set aside in order to settle and avoid the credit impairment this brings - ultimately this could cost the person their job/everything as they require a clean credit history, and were in the process of applying for credit when finding this out, though I am aware this is not necessarily going to be reason enough for the matter to be wiped clean, the person on the receiving end understandably are looking to remove the CCJ as soon as possible, even if it means having to pay for something they are completely unaware of happening.

From what I have read, this may need to be subject to a request to set aside as it is outside the usual limits, this needs an arguable reason I understand, and has to be prompt in it's request, assuming consent to set aside is not given.

I am completely unsure where to go, I am wary of calling Gladstones as I am aware the wrong thing said could jeopardise a later defence in court (if it has to come to that) despite wanting to clear/move on from the whole affair if it can be removed from the file.

Strangely, there is some further information to disclose which may corroborate that correct procedure was not followed though I am unsure how to approach/use this, and may assist the case, I am certain if posting here will identify the case to prying eyes. I am happy to PM this to any member who requests it.

Many thanks

Redx

Read about £255 set asides in the newbies faq sticky thread , post #2

Also read recent set aside threads on here too , plenty of them as they come up every week

It's Horizon who are the claimant , not Gladstone's , so deal with the claimant

Contact should be in writing , not phone

Blue1133

evening, thank you for your reply.

I have read over the weekend and many hours this evening and I admit, am slightly overwhelmed by the information/next steps and timescales despite reading the excellent posts you refer to.

I am trying to figure out the immediate next steps in order to defend the claim by way of setting it aside.

For example, is it usually the next step to contact the claimant, in this instance would be the parking firm? What information am I trying to gather here? Should set aside be applied for now or must I wait for court documentation which may take days and give the parking firm time to respond prior to going for the set aside - I merely have basic information at this stage from a phone call to County Court and can email the parking firm or send a letter depending upon what would be acceptable to the court.

Redx

read the posts by henrik777 about set asides etc, he has posted several times recently on similar threads, which is why I told you to read other set aside threads

coupon mad has also posted many times on this subject

you are dealing with Horizon, the claimant, you either go for a set aside with consent (cheaper) or without consent , dearer

a couple of years ago the CPR was changed such that if you were there to be found and yet an old address was sued, judges normally grant the set aside and you ask for deferred costs to be paid back if you win the court claim itself

plenty of info here if you search for it, I know I have read dozens of posts about it where people such as you were told the options


henrik777 posted about it in this recent thread for starters

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=76523213

and


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=6072782

and


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=6064421&highlight=255


and


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=6072782

there are dozens more with set aside info


please confirm you have read the set aside advice by coupon mad and henrik777 in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread , post #2

Coupon-mad

You only need search the forum. Every query is covered. Your keywords = set aside.

Le_Kirk

give consent to set aside in order to settle and avoid the credit impairment this brings .........require a clean credit history

Judges don't like "credit cleansing" so, when you get to the point of writing your six-point draft order (search the forum) and witness statement, this will NOT feature, instead use the "not served at correct address, was there to be found" advice.

The_Deep

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP after the election, as it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.[/FONT][/FONT]

Blue1133

Further to this - please also note that a 'letter of claim' was sent to the address, the letter is dated a few days after the judgement but before 28 days was entered, the headed letter has no name, just address, and amount owed £0, no registration or anything to identify who it is in relation to/what it is in relation to - will this change anything - is this abuse of process as clearly the address was known?

Redx

With sparse details , it seems either irrelevant or yes it's proof you were there to be found

You need to get on with the set aside , it's important to act quickly

Blue1133

thanks - SPoken to County Court this morning - they sent the Particulars through email.

WIll I require anything else from the court at this time before doing anything. Do I pay the CCJ? or leave it unsatisfied

I wish to apply for consent to set aside to the parking firm so will be drafting that up today - I assume it will be the arguments I wish to rely upon in court? is it a skeleton summary I send or do I need to go full blown on this.

I only have very basic details - so hard to put a defence together with only a small amount of PoC text.

Do I contact DVLA to get evidence of address being changed, I have evidence of a redirection in place also via Royal Mail.

nosferatu1001

Ifyou set aside WITH CONSENT, you will HAVE to pay the damned CCj. There is no option, they will obviously not consent to let you just walk away! You do NOT pay it until AFTER you have the set aside agreed with the parking company becaues obviously if you pay them there is no longer any reason for them to agree to the set aside with consent. So get it in writing first (consent order, signed by them) before you pay.
If you are going down the WITHOUT CONSENT route, then the above is irrelevant, and you write
1) WS showing whythey did not effect service and how you were able to be fond - redirection, proof of being on council tax etc
2) defence to the UNDERLYING CHARGE - this is in case you dont get the automatic 13.1 set aside you can get it set aside under "any other good reason" ie you have a realistic prospect in court
4) Draft Order (6 point, reserving costs AND paying you costs of aplicaiton if they discontinue)

You dont seem to understand with and without consent
If doing it WITH consent, then you are obvioulsy not drafting a defence for the parking company. They dont care. Youre proposing a deal to them - you pay up, If and ONLY IF they agree to the set aside. You agree to pay all costs of this and will pay in full.

Wihtout consent - you apply directly ot the court with the above. Youre asking the court if you can have the case opened again, and why. *PART* of that is, as I have told you above, showing that you have a defence to the underlying claim .